Rubber articles of every kind



I Patented Apr 25, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OLOI' GUSTAV IBOHLIN, OF HELSINGIBORG, SWEDEN, ASSIGNOR TO HELSINGBORGS GUHIIFABRIKS AKTIEBOLAG, F HELSINGBORG, SWEDEN RUBBER ARTICLES OF EVERY KIND No Drawing. Application filed January 21, 1930,, Serial No. 422,496, and in- Germany December 20, 1928.

Q It is known to provide articles of felt, e. g. hair hats of poor, quality, with a superficial nap consistlng of finer woolly hairs fixed to the underlying felt by gluing, also without inlas of textile material or the like, rubber ootwear or other articles made from such-sheets or by pressing, and'the invention is characterized in that the surface of the rubber article, or part thereof, has a nap which gives the article an appearance corresponding e. g; to suede and makes it' feel like skin. Besides aiming to the product the invention relates also'to the process by which rubber articles of every kmd are provided with the said nap. The na thus applied to rubber articles consists of s orter or longer, especially relatively short fibres or the like, which are according to the invention partly embedded in and held by the surface of the rubber article, so that parts of the said fibres or the like project from the rubber surface and give it a nap-like surface layer. Normally the fibres or other fibrelike materials serving to produce the nap are dyed with a colour corresponding to the rubber articles on which the nap has to be placed, and this dyeing is most easily car-" ried out before the fibres are attached to the rubber surface. A material well adapted for the roduction of nap on rubber articles is-cellu ose fibre, consistin of wood-pulp which has been dried and nely divided so that the individual fibres may easily be separated and spread in an air current or air layer. Cellulose fibres are much better than e. g. woolly hairs or the like fibres adapted for imitation of a leather-like surface or a leather nap. Leather imitations have, therefore, hitherto normally been made. from cellulose materials, e. g. leather paper or imitation leather. When used for nap on rubber articles cellulose fibres have, the special advantage over other fibres that they, are

able to survive the vulcanization of the rubber article Without damage. The imitation nap may be applied to the rubber article, e. g. the outside or inside ofa alosh or the surface of a rubber sheet, in t e following manner as an example: The surface to be provided with a nap is subjected to a preparation either by heat or by suitable solvent, as e. g. benzine, so as to bring the outer layer of the surface into a more or less soft or plastic state. This may also be obtained by applying to the surface of the rubber sheet or article a liquid rubber solution, or other suitable adhesive adapted to join the rubber and the fibrous materlal in question. When the rubber surface has been made sticky, the desired nap of fibres or the like is spread thereon, e. g. by blowing air or gases containing the.fib'res1 which are to form the nap .on to the sticky surface. Instead of blowing the fibres on to the rubber surface I may bring the rubber article into a chamber or the like filled with air saturated with fibres. Such a fibre saturated air space can be obtained e. under a wire-gauze sieve, on the surface 0% which the fibre material is shaken about. When the rubber has been covered with a 'sufiiciently thick fibre layer, the supply of the fibres ceases, and the next step of the process consists of causing all the fibres or parts thereof to adhere, in any suitable way, to the underlying prepared rubber surface. This fixing of the fibres to the surface of the rubber article or sheet is normally performed by an outer pressure, e. g.- a rolling, by WlllCh the fibrous layer is pressed down upon the rubber surface,

with the result that theadhesive surface is totally covered by the fibres wholly or part1 embedded inthe outmost surface layer 0 the rubber article. The superfluous fibres not fixed to the rubber may easily be brushed ofl or removed in other ways, and the rubber article 'appears thereafter with a fibrous nap looking and feeling quite'like the nap,'of e. suede. In many cases the' preparation, w ereby the surface of the rubber article'is'rendered adhesive, may be dispensed with. The nap may be applied equally well to the rubber article, while the surface of the latter is still sticky by a rolling or pressing or other treatment during manufacture. The fibres to form the nap may be applied in other ways than by blowing or the like; e. g. the fibre layer may be applied to the rubber surface bysimilar processes to those employed in the transfer of pictures to e. glass panes. The rubber product provided with the above s ecified nap is normally made in the form 0 sheets inter-layered with linen or the like, and the material is, therefore particularly ada ted for use for the manu acture of rubber foot wear to which it is desired to give the appearance of leather footwear. The material is also well suited for use as a substitute for leather in general, e. g. articles of dress quite corresponding to those now made from leather, particularly suede, may be made from the present material. The invention is not limited to the above examples of the employment of the material or the performance of the process, the principle of the. invention being solely that a desired imitation of a nap is applied to rubber articles.

I claim:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a foundation layer of rubber and a. nap upon said layer of fibers of'prepared wood pulp cellulose. 1

2. An article of manufacture comprising a foundation layer of rubber and a nap upon said layer'of finely divided dried fibers of wood pulp cellulose.

3. An article of manufacture comprising a foundation layer of rubber, a nap upon a surface of said foundation layer of prepared wood pulp cellulose and said foundation layer andsaid nap being dyed identical colors. 4. A method of making an article manufacture comprising rendering the surface of a foundation layer of rubber soft andplastic and then applying thereto a nap of dried wood pulp cellulose fibers. 1

5. A method of manufacturing an article of manufacture comprising rendering the foundation layer of rubber adhesive upon a surface thereof, then applying to said sticky surface a nap of dried wood pulp cellulose fibers, said fibers being dyed the same color as said rubber foundation.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

OLOF GUSTAV BOHLIN. 

